This is such an interesting background! Any reason you just play against the computer and not any of the people online?
In general, I'm not really a big fan of playing online, much preferring over-the-board play. I have played many games against online opponents, but somehow I lost my patience and taste for it. There are some bad actors out there who like to heckle, or simply just walk away if they're in a losing position, refusing to concede and simply letting the clock run out. So I'm left sitting in front of the computer waiting for someone to make a move when I'm not sure if they have any intention of even continuing the game or not. My time is too valuable for that. So I play against the Chess.com computer to help keep my game sharp, and because it makes its move pretty much instantaneously. I’ve beaten the computer at 1800 level but hit a wall at the 2000 rated “player”.
Also, chess is already a rather solitary kind of game, and playing online makes it feel even more so, at least for me. It's not the most social of recreations, compared to something like poker or golf, where you can hang with buddies and bullshit while knocking back a few beers and smoking cigars.
The unique thing about the game is that it can be ALL-consuming. It takes a different kind of person that wants to obsess and analyze over every possible move or theoretical line in a given position. It's not like tennis, where after you've played a couple of sets, you can hang up your racket and tennis shoes and then go about your everyday. After a game, it’s hard to resist going back over it and asking... should I have made this move? Or that move? Or what if I tried this...? The chessboard is always in front of you, like some sort of siren call luring you into an endless world of complex variations. Better yet, you can do calculations in your head or from a book, which means you can take the game with you wherever you go. Openings... middle game ... end game... it can all be enchanting and overwhelming at the same time.
I remember walking into the Manhattan Chess Club one day, where the first thing that struck me was the smell. The place reeked of body odor and unwashed people. Those hard-core chess players cared more about finding an answer to the Poisoned Pawn variation of the Sicilian Defence than about their own personal hygiene.